Quarantined And 10 Facts About Lice

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Last week we were quarantined. I shared via social media that I would be sharing the most bizarre unit study topic we have ever explored with you this week...and well here it is - LICE!!! Every parents worst nightmare, yet a great unit study topic. Yes homeschool kids get lice too!

Last Monday my sweet little girl turned 8 years old and ended up getting some uninvited guests for her birthday celebration. As a result we ended up being quarantined to the house for the entire week!!! Gwyn was a little worried about having lice and did cry for a few minutes, but then she asked if she could learn about them...so we did! So for the week we learned and explored lice and combed through Gwyn's hair two times a day.  We covered science, history, math and more!

So in case you ever want to do a unit study on lice here are some resources and 10 facts you may not have known. Oh and if your child should ever get lice I highly recommend the Fairy Tales Terminator Lice and Nit Comb, it was a huge help along with some lice shampoo, coconut oil, baby oil and vinegar!

Louse (plural: lice) is the common name for members of over 3,000 species of wingless insects of the order Phthiraptera; three of which are classified as human disease agents. They are about the same size as a sesame seed. The scientific name for head louse is Pediculus humanus capitis.

Here are some close ups of the lice we collected from Gwyn's head and looked at under the microscope!

10 facts about lice:
1) Adult head lice only live for about three weeks.
2) They feed on human blood.
3) Head lice only live on humans, so there is no worries about your pets getting them.
4) They can only live for about 24 hours off of their human host.

5) Each head louse can lay up to 10 nits (eggs) a day).

6) The term nitpicking is the act of removing nits (the eggs of lice, generally head lice) from the host's hair.

7) There are three species of human lice: head, body and crab (pubic) lice

8) Everyone can get head lice. Rich, poor, royal or not. The head louse is an equal opportunity parasite. Although school-age children get head lice more often than adults, girls slightly more than boys, the fact is that the pesky head louse can and does infest anyone.

9) Head lice have been around forever! There is mention of lice in the Bible during the 10 plagues in Exodus. Cave men were crawling with lice and scientists have found lice on the scalps of ancient Egyptian mummies.  Even Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, had a solid gold nit comb. There is a rumor that Queen Elizabeth's elaborate white neck ruffle was worn to protect her clothing from lice. And what about those elaborate headdresses that covered the heads of women in medieval and Elizabethan times? In Williamsburg, Virginia, it was discovered that men wore wigs partly to protect themselves from head lice but since some wigs were made from infested human hair, it didn't always help. 

10) Louse eggs (nits) cannot move and are not transmissible.

Check out these great YouTube videos:
-Head Lice to Dead Lice Part 1 and Part 2
-It's Head Lice

-I Didn't Know That: Secret Life Of Head Lice
-Dr. Itchy: Emily Finds Out She Has Head Lice
-Dr Itchy: Emily Gets Treated For Head Lice

More resources:

-Head lice games
-Head lice slideshow
-Great list of head lice facts and here is a great website explaining all of the stages of a louse.

Photo from Lice MD

-Lice health and social studies curriculum guide

-Biblical lice plague coloring page, lesson on lice plague

-Head lice coloring and story book (with facts)

-Louse coloring page

-Louse life cycle coloring page

So now you probably think we are totally weird and insane. Heck I can't even believe I wrote this post. But I wanted to hopefully make a point that literally everything can be used as a learning experience...even LICE! 

So what is the most bizarre unit study you have ever done?

Linking up with: Top Ten Tuesday, Ben and Me